As chair of the portfolio committee on health, Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo had become accustomed to firing questions and holding those in authority accountable in parliament.
However, the tables were turned on Tuesday when he found himself in the hot seat, making his first appearance before the National Council of Provinces’ select committee on health and social services, in his new role as deputy health minister.
“It is truly a blessing to have tasted both worlds, because I know what it’s like to account and how to handle people who must account to you,” said Dhlomo in an interview after the meeting.
Dhlomo took the deputy ministerial reins from Dr Joe Phaahla two weeks ago, when President Cyril Ramaphosa reconfigured his cabinet, making Phaahla the new minister of health.
Former health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize, who had been placed on special leave for his alleged involvement in the R150m Digital Vibes scandal, was axed.
Both Dhlomo and Phaahla take over the ministerial leads on the national vaccination programme at a crucial time, as South Africans begin to experience Covid-19 fatigue.
Dhlomo, who hails from Umbumbulu, south of Durban, says he was at home when he received a call from Ramaphosa informing him that he had been appointed to serve alongside his long-time comrade.
“It was about 8.20pm when I got the call from the president to say he is assigning me to be the deputy minister under Dr Joe Phaahla. I felt very humbled, because this is a huge responsibility and because there is no honeymoon in this department. Everybody is looking at what we are bringing to improve the problems we are faced with,” he said.
He is confident that he and Phaahla will collectively steer the department in the right direction.
“My anxiety dropped when I found out that I will be serving under a leader who mentored me academically, professionally and politically for over 40 years.
“I met Dr Phaahla in 1980, when I was a medical student and he was my senior. Our relationship has grown stronger ever since. So I am going to be working in a friendly environment led by a big brother,” he said.
The former Robben Island political prisoner said: “Dr Phaahla has indicated to me that we need to focus strongly on turning the tide of the Covid-19 pandemic, so we are putting together strategies that will do that. I am not coming in with my own programmes.”
One of the most valuable lessons he learnt during his 10-year stint as the health MEC in KZN was the importance of taking vaccines to the people.
“Of course, we won’t forget other strategies that have worked, as in Limpopo, where they had the MEC with the leadership of a big church encouraging people to get vaccinated. Going to influential church and traditional leaders is key to getting people to buy into the programme,” said Dhlomo.
He also ran KZN’s male circumcision campaign, led by the late monarch King Goodwill Zwelithini.
“In April 2010, he opened the first circumcision site in Nongoma, and by 2018, working with amakhosi and their coordinators on the ground, we were able to circumcise a million men,” he said, as evidence of how community-led health initiatives can prove effective.
What helped make the programme a success was that people trusted and respected the amakhosi and this made it easier to accelerate the programme, says Dhlomo.
But why does he believe there is hesitancy to take the Covid-19 vaccine?
“I am not sure whether it is social media, fake news and fear mongering that is out there.
“We have seen a significant uptake in the over 60-year-olds but this is not the case with the 50-year-olds and above. When we opened the vaccination for the 35-year-olds and above, the numbers have been disappointing. So we have the younger, educated and who have access to the registration cohort not registering,” said Dhlomo.
This week the government was looking at the root cause of this vaccine hesitancy, he said.
Dhlomo’s appointment came as a surprise, and critics questioned whether he was fit for the job since he allegedly failed to manage the oncology crisis while he was MEC in KZN.
But he said it was “far from the truth” that he collapsed the health system in his home province.
“I can give you a list of success stories but I cannot say that we were perfect in delivering the services there,” he said.
Among other programmes, Dhlomo said the department was able to turn around the image of public hospitals, reduced time spent in queues and made a difference in the province’s HIV and TB programmes.
“Yes, there were bottle necks here and there, and we did not do as much as one would have liked in terms of making sure everyone that had advanced cancer got treatment, and I know we could not get to the others on time. But there was a lot that we did in KZN. We even opened the first milk banks in the province.”
Dhlomo is confident that he is equal to the task in his new role.
“I am going to scrape from my past experiences to see what will work and take it from there,” he said.
Dhlomo said he knew that the country was questioning “whether we are led by people who know what they are doing”.
“Though it is a new pandemic, we are dependent on a scientific team that is advising the minister. We are determined to make a big different and ensure that we can get people to enjoy their Christmas and other holidays. All this is dependent on how we run this campaign,” he said.
